中国人寿近期向中国中化收购远洋地产4.23亿股旧股，收购后国寿成为远洋地产第一大股东。

远洋长年法律顾问普衡为此交易提供法律咨询和服务，而中国人寿则聘请瑞生为法律顾问。

Since the revised Insurance Law (effective 1 Oct 2009) granted permission to insurance companies to invest into real estate, domestic insurance companies have been more active in real estate investments in their bid to diversify their investment portfolios.

Paul Hastings, who acts as regular external counsel to advise on legal and regulatory matters for Sino-Ocean, was recently instructed on the China Life US$750m acquisition of Hong Kong-listed Sino-Ocean Land Holdings’ shares. Paul Hastings previously also advised the company on its US$700m loan, provided by 19 banks in September.

In the 2009 ALB China In-house 10 feature, China Life’s general manager of the company’s legal and compliance affairs department Zheng Yong, listed King & Wood, Debevoise & Plimpton and Freshfields as his company’s top three long-term legal advisors, so clinching representation for China Life in this deal marks a milestone for Latham & Watkins. “We are delighted to achieve a successful closing within an intensive period. With our strong relationship with China Life, we look forward to assisting the Group in other important projects,” said Yeung.

Other insurance companies actively investing in real estate include Ping An Insurance, which invested in two property developers, the Greentown Group and the Gemdale Group.